Two goalkeepers. Two proud Indigenous women. Westfield Matilda Lydia Williams sat down with Future Matilda and Indigenous Football Week Ambassador Jada Whyman to chat football and family, country and culture.
Their stories start on opposite sides of the continent and years apart, but Lydia Williams and Jada Whyman have many things in common - from their positions on the pitch to an immense pride in their people.
“The two tribes that I'm from are Wiradjuri and Yorta Yorta. So Wiradjuri being my mum's side from Wagga and then Yorta Yorta, my dad's side which…
In celebration of the NAIDOC Week, we check in with former Socceroo Travis Dodd, who is helping football make inroads into the nation's Aboriginal communities.
This year’s NAIDOC Week theme – Get up! Stand up! Show up! – encourages all of us to champion institutional, structural, collaborative, and cooperative change while celebrating those who have already driven and led change in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities over generations.
And one person who certainly is helping to lead change in Indigenous communities is former Socceroo Dodd.
Subway Joeys’ Head Coach Brad Maloney has named an extended 28-player squad ahead of the AFC U-17 Asian Cup Thailand 2023™ to be staged in Bangkok and Chonburi from June 15 – July 2, 2023.
The extended squad includes Adelaide United FC forward Nestory Irankunda, recent Isuzu UTE A-League Men debutant for the Central Coast Mariners, midfielder Miguel Di Pizio, and goalkeeper Anthony Pavlesic, who has also been called into the Mariners’ senior squad in the later stages of the regular season and for the Finals.
Upon announcing the extended squad, which will be reduced to 23-players…
Football Australia is delighted to announce the appointment of Joe Montemurro as the 15th full-time Head Coach of the CommBank Matildas following a global search for the next leader of Australian Senior Women’s National Team.One of the world's most respected coaches, Montemurro returns home after a highly successful decade in Europe where he led Arsenal WFC, Juventus FC Women, and Olympique Lyonnais Féminin to success and developed a reputation for progressive, high-quality football.Football Australia Interim Chief Executive Officer, Heather Garriock, said the appointment comes at a critical…
It was a tough result and tough match for the Young Matildas as they went down 2-0 to Brazil in their second group stage match of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
However, the Australian side is taking the result against the current and 11-time South American U-20 champions in their stride and apply their learnings to their final group game in Costa Rica.
For head coach Leah Blayney, there were positives to take from the soggy pitch in Alajuela, as well as key areas of improvement.
“We're super competitive so we always want to win every…
Victoria Blue and NSW Sky are the Under 15 and Under 16 winners respectively as the 2025 CommBank Emerging Socceroos Championships concluded in Melbourne.The stands at the Home of the Matildas were filled with excited spectators and supporters who witnessed the culmination of six days of high-quality competition from Football Australia’s nine state and territory Member Federations. A combined 354 goals were scored across the tournament which featured over 1,500 players and officials from 32 teams.Subway Socceroos’ Head Coach Tony Popovic was in attendance to present the winning teams with the…
Female Football Week 2025, a nationwide celebration of the people driving the continued rise of women’s football, is set to conclude this weekend with the excitement of the Ninja A-League Women Semi Final weekend.Held from 2–11 May, Female Football Week has in its 11 years become a flagship initiative, recognising, celebrating, and inspiring the contributions of women and girls across all levels of the game.This year’s activations delivered a record-breaking series of events shining a spotlight on the achievements shaping the future of football across every level of the game - from local…
Three expansion teams planned in time for FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023
Together with an extended finals series, expansion will deliver more games, more football and more opportunities for elite players
New Club Championship competition announced combining results in men’s and women’s football
Women’s football is on the move, with Australian Professional Leagues (APL) announcing a raft of new initiatives to drive the women’s game forward.
Just eight months after the APL confirmed their control of the A-League and W-League, and as part of a strategic expansion plan, APL have…
Our nation’s migrant history is strongly reflected in the current crop of Socceroos’ whose heritage can be linked to all parts of the globe.
With 30% of Australians born overseas and 49% having at least one parent born overseas, the story of Australian football is part of larger story about our nation’s migrant history.
First introduced in the late 19th century by Englishman John Walter Fletcher, football (or soccer) soon became a space for migrant communities – many of whom fled war and persecution in their homelands – to gather and celebrate their culture and heritage…
The annual Female Football Week awards recognise the contributions of women in football at grassroots levels, including coaches, referees and administrators.CommBank Coach of the Year 2023 was awarded to Ann Gourley of Gosnells City Football Club in Perth. The Belfast native is an integral part of the club, leading the female football program and having a position on the committee.She came to the club after migrating to Australia in 2007 and – after a four-year break – returned in 2018 to help build the women’s program from the ground up at Gosnells City.“She has been involved in the u12s,…
Australia’s Socceroos, with a world ranking of No. 42, secured qualification for a fifth consecutive FIFA World Cup™ on Tuesday morning (AEST), recording a historic victory 5-4 over world-ranked No. 22, Peru, in a dramatic penalty shootout at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Doha, Qatar.
After a qualification campaign that stretched a whopping 1,008 days and saw Australia’s senior men’s national football team play just four of its twenty qualification matches on home soil, Graham Arnold’s side put in an inspiring and courageous performance in Qatar’s capital to book the penultimate berth on…
Over 200 member associations join FIFA’s Talent Development Programme
FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development Arsène Wenger: “Programme is aimed at giving every talent a chance”
Thorough analysis of each member association’s football ecosystem
World-leading experts to implement the programme
Over 200 member associations across all confederations have signed up for FIFA’s first-ever Talent Development Programme, setting a new benchmark for initiatives created by world football’s governing body in the area. The list comprises, among many others, the current men’s and women’s…
Football Australia is pleased to announce the Hon Julie Bishop as the latest ambassador to join the Legacy ‘23 Ambassador
Program.
With Australia set to host the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™, the Legacy ‘23 Ambassador Program will play a critical role in raising awareness and advocacy for achieving 50:50 gender participation in sport, as set out in Football Australia’s Legacy ‘23 Plan.
During her time as Australia’s first female Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2013-to 2018, Julie was an advocate for gender equality in this country and throughout the world.…
The nation’s most prestigious sporting organisation has seven new members, with the Sport Australia Hall of Fame today proudly announcing a stellar group of Inductees for 2025.Among the diverse list are Olympic, Commonwealth and X-Games gold medallists, champions of both team and individual sports, and a celebrated doctor. The Inductees’ exceptional achievements and contributions are matched by exemplary reputations nationally and internationally.The new Athlete Members are two-time Grand Slam tournament champion Lleyton Hewitt AM; four-time VFL/AFL premiership winner Jason Dunstall…
Football Australia is delighted to extend its heartfelt congratulations to renowned Australian manager, Ange Postecoglou, on his appointment as Manager of English Premier League giants, Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.
This notable milestone in an extraordinary career, follows Postecoglou's recent success at Celtic FC in the Scottish Premiership, where he secured five trophies in just two years, including back-to-back Scottish Premiership Championships (2021/22 and 2022/23), two Scottish League Cups (2021/22 and 2022/23) and one Scottish Cup (2022/23).
After six months of pulsating football across all four corners of the country, the Australia Cup 2023 Final Rounds will get underway this week.
The Round of 32 will be contested from Friday, August 4 to Monday, August 14 and will feature matches in six state and territories: New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, and Western Australia.
Three teams will make their Australia Cup Final Rounds debut with Inglewood United (Football West), Goulburn Valley Suns (Football VIC) and Inter Lions (Football NSW) looking to create history.
The CommBank Young Matildas have been declared PacificAus Four Nations Tournament champions after a hard-fought 5-2 victory against Thailand U-20.In front of a near-capacity crowd, the Australia U-20 team were made to earn their victory with Thailand twice fighting back to equalise before the home side stormed home in the final 15 minutes.A hat-trick from Sienna Saveska – including goal of the tournament – as well as an own goal and a last-minute strike from Caley Tallon-Henniker was enough to overcome a double from Thailand’s impressive winger, Madison Casteen.The match started as a tense…
Musimbwa Elongo found his way home to Australia from the war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2005, despite the struggles of adjusting to a new country, football became a beacon of hope.
Musie Elongo was only a small child when war broke out in the Congo in the early 1990s. From there his family escaped to a refugee camp in Tanzania, where they lived for the next nine to ten years.
Despite the time they spent in the refugee camp Elongo considers his family one of the lucky ones.
“I was one of the lucky few that got to come to Australia to start a better life,” he said…
During Female Football Week 2021, Football Australia will celebrate the remarkable achievements of women throughout our football community while recognising the far-reaching benefits the game has to offer.
This profile provides an insight into the duties and experiences of Westfield Matildas physiotherapist Jaclyn Benz.
Behind every successful sporting team, there is a hard-working set of backroom staff.
Jaclyn Benz is one of those who work behind the scenes to ensure our Matildas are in top condition when they pull on the Green and Gold.
